Bizarre Stars Stat Puts Playoff Run in Perspective

The Dallas Stars continue to win despite showing some significant problems.

Dallas Stars center Wyatt Johnston and center Matt Duchene celebrates the game winning goal scored by Johnston. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Dallas Stars are now just three wins away from the Stanley Cup Final after defeating the Edmonton Oilers 6-3 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final Wednesday night, yet from a certain point of view, it's almost unbelievable that they've made it this far.

Of course, Dallas has seen some incredible performances this postseason. Mikko Rantanen has completely taken over as he leads the league in goals and points, Jake Oettinger has still been outstanding in net, and that's just the start.

However, the Stars are the only team in the final four with a negative goal differential even after Game 1, and that reflects in their plus/minus ratings.

Of the 21 Stars skaters that have suited up for the playoffs, only six of them currently have positive ratings. Rantanen, Mikael Granlund and Esa Lindell lead the way at only plus-2, while Roope Hintz, Sam Steel and Liam Bischell all have a plus-1 rating.

On the other side of the coin, 10 skaters have a negative rating, and some are deep in the negative. Wyatt Johnston has the lowest rating of any player in the postseason at minus-15, while Matt Duchene is right behind him at minus-11.

While it is bizarre to see a team in the conference finals with such low ratings across the board, but the reasons why are easy to identify.

First, the Stars tend to win close games and lose lopsided ones. Six of their nine wins have come by one or two goals, including all three overtime games they've played. Meanwhile, all five of their losses have come by three or more goals, with four of those losses coming by four goals.

Second, their power play is operating at an outstanding 34.9 percent, easily the best of any remaining team. However, players do not receive pluses or minuses for power play goals, so the 15 goals they've scored with a man advantage did not affect their players' ratings. The two shorthanded goals they allowed did, though, which only makes those ratings look worse.

Ultimately, though, goal differential means very little if they're winning. The Florida Panthers last had a minus-5 goal differential and 11 of their 20 skaters had a negative rating in the Stanley Cup Final against the Oilers, but that doesn't change the fact that they won a championship in any way.

If the Stars continue to win, then they couldn't care less about those stats.

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